DATE=2/4/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SRI LANKA INDEPENDENCE (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-258810
BYLINE=VANDANA CHOPRA
DATELINE=COLOMBO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga has
called upon all Sri Lankans to help her find peace,
saying she believed the country was finally on the
right track to solving ethnic problems. And as Vandana
Chopra reports from Colombo, the President missed the
ceremonial parade to mark Sri Lanka's 52d independence
anniversary celebrations.
TEXT: In a nationally televised speech from her home,
President Chandrika Kumaratunga called upon political
leaders to reach a consensus on resolving the nation's
civil war which, she said, has dragged on in Sri Lanka
for too long.
President Kumaratunga said she will also invite the
Tiger rebels to participate in the process, saying
they have a vital role in ending the sadness of the
people and must recognize that assassinating Tamil
and Sinhalese leaders and innocent people will never
resolve the problem. The President herself lost an
eye in an assassination attempt in December.
The Sri Lankan governnment has been discussing with
other political parties a new constitution that aims
to give more powers to the regional councils in the
country, including one administered by the Tamils in
the north. The Tamils want a separate homeland in the
north and east and this has been the main rebel demand
in the civil war which began in 1983.
President Kumaratunga, who was to unfurl the national
flag and address the nation from the parliament
complex, did not take part in the
independence celebrations. State media said she was
not feeling well.
The parliamentary speaker filled in for her at the
Independence Day parade.
Meanwhile, thousands of soldiers and police patrolled
Colombo streets as the city was placed under a tight
security blanket with new road blocks and additional
security checkpoints.
All of the independence celebrations in the city were
low key because of security concerns
after bombs exploded in three buses Thursday wounding
at least 18 people. (Signed)
NEB/VC/PLM
04-Feb-2000 03:41 AM EDT (04-Feb-2000 0841 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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